Sweet Revenge With My Billionaire Vampire

His steps slowed as he neared the far end of the hallway. His eyes caught onto something large mounted on the wall—a painting. One that had been there for a hundred years and counting, untouched by dust or time.

It was supposed to be a father/son portrait of Damien and Enzo. But Enzo, stubborn as he was even as a child, had refused to be painted unless Vincent and Andrei were in it as well.

Andrei and Vincent were basically just servants in the castle, raised by Damien to keep his son company. They weren’t supposed to be anywhere in the royal painting. But Ezno had insisted that if they weren’t included, then he wouldn’t stand still for a single second.

And so, despite Damien’s irritation, the artist had been forced to include all three of them in the portrait.

Andrei took a step closer, his eyes scanning the familiar faces captured on the canvas.

Damien stood at the back, his broad figure towering over the three young vampires in front of him. His expression was grumpy, his arms crossed over his chest. His dark eyes glared down at Enzo as if mentally questioning how he had been roped into this nonsense.

Enzo, at the center, stood with a mischievous grin. To his left was Vincent, clutching the hem of his shirt nervously, his hair slightly disheveled. He had been the smallest of them all and the kindest among them, his smile softer than the others.

And to the right, standing with his arms crossed and a blank expression, was Andrei himself. The most responsible one among the three.

At the intersection of two hallways, Andrei turned a corner, and just as he stepped forward, someone came barreling around the corner, crashing into him with enough force to make him take a step back.

The impact sent a stack of papers flying into the air, fluttering like autumn leaves before scattering across the floor. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Sitting on the ground, groaning and rubbing his forehead where he had bumped into Andrei’s solid chest, was Vincent. His hair was a mess, and his wide eyes blinked in surprise.

"Oh, no—" Vincent gasped, immediately scrambling to grab the papers. Without even looking up, he started frantically gathering them, his voice rushed and panicked. "I’m so, so sorry! I wasn’t looking—I didn’t mean to—"

Andrei reached down, his strong hands gripping both of his arms firmly, pinning them to his sides, before pulling him up to his feet.

Vincent let out a small yelp, nearly dropping the papers he had managed to grab. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for whatever scolding was about to come from whoever he had just run into.

But instead of harsh words, he heard a quiet, familiar chuckle.

His eyes slowly fluttered open, his breath catching when he finally looked up to see Andrei.

Vincent’s expression shifted from panic to pure shock as he stared at the older vampire, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Andrei balanced him on his feet before releasing his arms, then reached forward and ruffled Vincent’s hair like he used to when they were younger.

"Hey there, Vincent."

Vincent instinctively lowered his head as his hair fell over his face. He quickly ran a hand through it, pushing it back into place as he murmured, "What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the human world with Enzo?"

Andrei crouched, gathering the rest of the scattered papers. "The letter you gave me a few weeks ago said Lord Damien wanted to see me," he said, glancing up at Vincent. "There was no explanation as to why."

Straightening back up, he handed the stack of papers to Vincent, who took them hesitantly, his brows furrowing in confusion. He had assumed it was just another one of Damien’s letters, telling Enzo to come back.

"I have no idea why Lord Damien summoned you either," he admitted, glancing down the hallway. "But I can show you to his office. It’s this way."

He gestured ahead, but before he could take a step, Andrei wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. With his free hand, he ruffled his hair again. "Have you forgotten I grew up here too?"

Vincent huffed, slouching as he tried to shake off Andrei’s grip. "Stop that," he muttered, rubbing his hand over his head to fix his hair.

The two of them walked side by side until they reached a familiar, heavy wooden door. They both exchanged a look before Vincent stepped forward and knocked twice.

From inside, Damien’s deep, commanding voice responded almost immediately.

"Come in."

Vincent pushed the door open and stepped inside, moving to the side with his head bowed in respect. "Andrei is here, my lord."

Andrei entered right after him, mirroring his bow. "My liege," he greeted.

Behind his massive desk, Damien sat comfortably with a pen in his hand, though he dropped it the moment he saw Andrei.

He chuckled deeply as he leaned back in his seat, his gaze scanning over Andrei, assessing him. "You sure took your time arriving here," he said, gesturing toward the seat in front of his desk. "Sit."

Andrei did as he was told and stepped forward, lowering himself onto the chair opposite Damien.

Vincent, on the other hand, had already begun stepping back toward the door, assuming his presence was no longer needed. But just as he stepped out through the door—

"Vincent."

Damien’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

He swallowed hard, already feeling a familiar wave of dread creep into his stomach. Surely whatever was about to be discussed had nothing to do with him, right?

With a nod, he replied, "Yes, my liege?"

"Come back here."

Vincent’s heart dropped. His fingers clenched around the stack of papers as he turned back around, his expression carefully blank.

Taking a slow breath, he forced his legs to move, entering back inside and closing the door behind him. He walked forward, stopping just behind Andrei’s chair, and stood there.

Damien leaned back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other and steepling his fingers. "I have somewhere to be, so I’m going to make this quick."